Dancing Flames
by spazzgirl
Summary: he was just an art student, it wasn't until he met a certain ballerina, that his world had begun to change. Romanogers. Pre-Serum Steve. Romanogers 40s AU. Takes place before the first Captain America movie.
1. Chapter 1

**Dancing Flames**

 **So here I am again with another Romanogers fic but with Pre-Serum Steve. I'm sorry, I just like the idea of Nat meeting Steve before he became Captain America. I feel like he would be her guiding light and would teach her how to open up.**

 **The relationship between the two will build up slowly because I don't want to rush things. This will take place before the first Captain America movie, so this is a different setting. In my first Romanogers fic called "Graceful Beauty," Nat will be a couple of years younger than Steve. So while he's 25, she'll be 23 in this fic.**

 **I've always liked the Romanogers 40's AU setting, I have read several Romanogers fic in which Steve finds Nat in the 40's, but they're all after the first Captain America movie, so this is just my little spin on it.**

 **Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of any characters used**

 **Summary:** _he was just an art student, it wasn't until he met a certain ballerina, that his world had begun to change_

 **I haven't read the comics, so I apologize for any OOCness with characters, everything is being based on the MCU verse alongside what I've read in other fanfics.**

 **ENJOY!**

Steve had always liked that college was completely different. Many of the people at the university were mature and he didn't always have to worry about the bullies. Though he also liked the fact that he and his friend, Bucky, were attending the same college, Brooklyn College. Though despite being a college student, Steve still had trouble talking to women, it was even worse when they would complement him on his drawings and he'd blush, and stutter each time he'd try to form a sentence.

The blond just let out a sigh as he finished up on one of his art assignments that his professor had given them. It was basically draw a sketch of people that inspired them, so Steve ended up drawing both his parents. His father had inspired him to join the army after he graduated, while his mother inspired him to become a better person. Steve never really knew his father but his mother was his hero, and it broke him after she passed.

Lost in thought, Steve didn't hear his best friend calling out to him.

"Steve."

"Yo Stevie boy!"

"ROGERS!"

Let out a small shout, Steve fell off his chair and onto the floor. Groaning as he rubbed his head, he glared as he heard Bucky laugh at him.

"Going deaf on me pal?"

"Shut up Bucky," he grabbed the lending hand the brunette offered him, "what do you want now."

"Aw don't be rude Steve," Bucky gave him a grin, "just wanted to know if you'd be up going out on a double date with me tonight."

" _Figures,"_ Steve mentally notes, "Bucky you know that I don't do great with gals."

Bucky rolled his eyes, "Aw don't be such a sore, besides this double date will help you get comfortable with dames. Aren't you tired of not approaching them?"

"That's part of the problem."

He frowned at Steve's negativity, "Come on Stevie, just because you're scrawny, doesn't mean you can't show a dame a good time."

"Unless it's dancing."

Bucky laughed, "Yeah, you still gotta work on that."

Steve laughed too, "Thanks, but no thanks Buck, I've got too much to do."

"Like what, homework?"

"Well yeah, I promised my ma that I'd get myself a degree, and I ain't breaking it. Besides I'm working on a collage and an internship."

Bucky shook his head, "Sooner or later you gotta learn how to let loose."

"Maybe someday Buck, but not today."

"Alright punk, take care of yourself."

"You too jerk."

Steve watched as Bucky exited out his apartment. The blond had managed to keep the apartment his mother had rented out. Thanks to his job and the savings his mother had, he was able to continue living in it and still had enough to support himself and get him supplies for college. It also helped that he was given an art scholarship thanks to a drawing that he did for a contest a few years ago.

Although despite using academics as an excuse to stay home, Steve just didn't have the charm to attract women. It didn't help that he wasn't tall, build, or healthy. In fact he was the opposite, and he hated it, being born sick and small. He couldn't risk working out because it would trigger his asthma, what was even worse it could cause harm to his spine. So all Steve could do was just draw, but he found comfort in drawing, and it always made him feel better. The downside of it was that he was colorblind, so there were certain colors he couldn't see that a normal person could, so he would have to write down what colors they were.

Surprisingly, being colorblind still didn't prevent Steve from becoming an artist. He could recall how happy his mother was each time he showed her a drawing that he would finish, whether they would be sketches or painted pictures.

Letting out a sigh, Steve looked through the window of his apartment and watched random people walking alongside the streets of Brooklyn. He'd watch couples carefully, taking notes on what to do if he ever had the chance to go on a date. Hopefully one day he would meet a dame that his late mother would approve of. But at the current moment, Steve would just busy himself with drawing until that day came.

* * *

"Another well job on the assignment Rogers," Steve's professor, Allan, patted his shoulder.

"Thanks," he blushed in response.

As he began to pack his bag, a few of his female students walked up to him.

"That was a beautiful picture of your parents Steve, maybe you can give me some pointers one day," a petite blonde named Mindy commented.

Steve blushed, finding no words to come out, he just nodded as Mindy and her friends giggled as they walked out of the classroom. Once he exited the room, Bucky wrapped and arm around his shoulder.

"Man, you get girls to talk to you but you can't talk to them."

Steve just rolled his eyes, "She was just admiring my artwork."

"Yeah and she flirted with ya," Bucky guffawed, "I mean she giggled too."

"Bucky just stop."

"Alright," the blond groaned as he received a noogie, "let's go get something to eat."

The two friend's picked a small diner to get some lunch.

"So do a lot of girls ask for pointers in art," Bucky wiggled his eyebrows.

"Idiot," Steve kicked his friend underneath the table, "they just want to know how they can improve in their drawings."

"And do you?"

"Ah come on Buck, we seriously aren't having this conversation, are we?"

The brunette just shook his head and laugh, "I'm just messing with ya Stevie. So this Saturday…"

"Don't tell me it's a double date."

"Stevie, you know me too well."

"Bucky," Steve gave a low warning.

Of course it was ignored, "Just this once, we're going dancing, and my date's friend is just your height. It'll be fine!"

"You know I can't dance."

"So you'll learn, it's never too learn how to dance."

* * *

 _Saturday night 8pm._

Steve shuffled nervously as Bucky was introducing him to their dates. Bucky's date was a beautiful brunette with gorgeous brown eyes, her friend was a couple of inches taller than Steve, thanks to the high heels, she was a dirt blonde with brown eyes.

"Ladies, meet my friend Steve, Steve meet Clara and Nikki."

"Nice to meet you Steve, I'm Clara," the brunette shook Steve's hand.

"Ma'am."

"And I'm Nikki," the dirt blonde smiled at Steve in which he smiled back.

"Now ladies," Bucky held his arms out, "let's go dancing!"

Clara laughed as Bucky happily led her to the dancefloor and the two began to enjoy each other's company. Steve began to shuffle nervously around Nikki.

"Wanna dance?" Nikki asked.

Steve just blushed, "I don't know how to."

She giggled, "All you gotta do is listen to the music and let your body move to it."

"That's just it, I can't listen to music."

"Oh are you deaf?"

Steve shook his head, "I'm partially deaf, so I can't hear very well."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Yeah, sorry."

The two ended up sitting at a table and watched their friends enjoy themselves. Of course Bucky stepped in and ended up dancing with both ladies, while Steve just sat by himself nervously. The blond didn't know why he agreed to come with Bucky on this double date, even though he knew it would end with him just by himself. Steve didn't know how to talk with women and just didn't know how to dance.

Later on, both Bucky and Steve called a cab to drop the ladies back to their place. Before Nikki stepped into the cab, Steve apologized to her.

"Sorry for not showing you a good time."

Nikki giggled, "That's okay Steve you're still new at this."

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Promise me, that once you find the right gal for you, you'll show her a good time, for me?"

Steve nodded, "I promise."

She smiled, "Good, and good night Steve."

Once the cab drove off, Bucky gave the blond a one arm hug.

"Wow, I'm surprised that you could hold a conversation."

"You can thank the beer," the two friends laughed and headed home.

 **END**

 **Well I hope you like the first chapter. I always imagined that if little Steve drank a few beers, he'd be a bit loose and talk to women. I also wanted to show that Steve could hold a conversation with women, but only for a certain amount of time.**

 **Fun fact, I was going to give Nat a cameo in this chapter, but decided against it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dancing Flames**

 **Muy muchas gracias for the reviews guys! You don't know how happy I was when I wanted to start this project. Though it will be hard focusing my attention on this story, seeing I have other stories out that need to be updated.**

 **I'm sure many of you heard that there was supposed to be a teaser trailer of Civil War released either the night after D23 or the next day, but apparently that rumor was false, so the real date is supposed to be somewhere around November or December for the trailer. But I'm sure I'm not the only who heard about the dialogues from the trailer that was shown at D23!**

 **Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of any characters used**

 **So we'll have a small cameo of a certain red head in this chapter!**

 **ENJOY!**

Steve woke up with a groan as he felt his head throbbing a bit. He had no idea why he'd let Bucky talk him to go to another bar and getting more drinks.

" _That's the last time I go out with Bucky for any drinks."_

He felt like he was going to throw up, and well…

That's what he did

His throat burning from the bile coming from his stomach all the way to his throat. He got lucky that his asthma didn't come up, or else he'd be in real trouble. The blonde felt like he was going to die and too many drinks really didn't go well with someone with so many health problems. Literally he had no idea how the hell he managed to make it home in one piece. His main concerned was if Bucky was able to make it back to his place. Of course that was answered quickly when he heard said person's very obnoxious snoring in the living room.

" _Figures."_

Steve knew that Bucky would end up crashing at his place, making sure that his sickly best friend was alright. Padding towards the source of the noise, he shook his head as he saw how sloppy his friend looked. Drool was coming out of his mouth, his left hand scratching his showing belly, and his hair all messy.

 _Oh if girls knew how much of a slob he looked like after a whole night of drinking_

Shaking his head again, he began to nudge the sleeping brunette on the floor with his foot.

"Bucky."

No response.

"Bucky wake up."

Still nothing except the snoring.

Groaning, Steve kicked his friend's side hard. "BUCKY WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

"Where's the fire?!" Sitting up and looking around, he noticed nothing wrong and glared at the smaller man, "What the hell?!"

He rolled his eyes, "You weren't waking up." He lend Bucky his hand to help him get up, "Get cleaned up while I go make breakfast."

Bucky just cursed under his breath and headed towards Steve's bathroom. The smaller man made a simple breakfast, hoping it would be enough for their stomachs after a hangover, if not, then a diner would be their go to for a bigger breakfast. Once their breakfast was over, they ended up going to a small diner for breakfast part 2 and that helped cure their hangover.

"Aw man, I am never going to drink that much anymore."

Steve smiled behind his cup of coffee, "Bucky, you always say that but never mean it."

The bigger of the two just glared and continued to eat his pancakes. While Bucky was still consuming his meal, Steve was already done and decided to do a small sketch on a napkin. Once they paid for their meals, the pair decided to take a small stroll through the park.

"Man, nothing beats a big breakfast after a night of drinking," Bucky stretched his arms.

Steve rolled his eyes, "Yeah."

Grinning a bit, Bucky pulled Steve close to him, "Saw you talking to a few dames last night."

"I was drunk Bucky, I think I could barely tell the difference between a guy and a dame."

Bucky snorted, "Yeah, I gotta say, you're hilarious when you're drunk. Seeing you flirt with a street lamp, funniest shit I've ever seen."

"Oh shut up," he elbowed Bucky's gut, "keep this up and you'll be going to bars by yourself."

"Like I don't anyways," he gave Steve another grin, "I think you should learnt to lighten up a bit Stevie boy!"

"I think I'd let to graduate before anything."

"At least you know where your heading, me, I ain't got nothing."

Steve frowned, "That's not true you could be a clown."

"Ha, funny Rogers."

The blonde laughed a bit, "I'm sure you'll land a job somewhere. I mean, the law is something you've been fascinated about, and then there's science."

"Being a lawyer is kind of dull Stevie, and I don't think I want to become a scientist, ain't about the whole 'crazy experimental life' anyways."

Their walk was quiet for a bit. Steve knew that Bucky didn't want to keep working in a factory, he understood that he wanted what every guy wanted. A stable job, finding a girl to marry and settling down.

"Maybe I'll join the army." Steve snapped out of his mental thinking. "I mean, girls like guys in uniform."

Steve rolled his eyes, "So just be a police officer."

"Nah, probably get fat from too much donuts."

They both laughed.

"Yeah, you'd be a fatass before you'd get married."

"Ha! Probably before you."

They continued their friendly banter till Steve decided to head towards the library.

"Seriously Stevie? Doing some studying?"

"Come on Buck, just want to do some light reading."

"Whatever, see ya tomorrow kid." Once Bucky left, Steve walked to the library.

He was browsing through the literary section and picked out a couple of books to do some light reading. Noticing it was already 5:30 pm, he decided to head to the Museum of Modern Art. He always enjoyed going towards this museum especially on Sunday's, considering it was too busy and he was truly able to enjoy the different style of arts. He became a regular visitor during his freshman year of college. Steve nodded at the workers and occasionally waving at them as he passed by. The receptionist always greeted Steve with a real smile as he entered.

His hands behind his back, he began to look through the gallery. Despite seeing many of the paintings, sculptures, pictures, and sketches plenty of time, still didn't diminish his admiration for them. Though being colorblind still didn't allow to fully enjoy some of the displays, seeing as there were colors he couldn't see normally because of his disability. Steve always strolled through the museum with a leisurely stroll, taking in many of the works carefully and talking full admiration.

He smiled as many people would stand in front of different works and look at them. He would occasionally hear their opinions of what each work meant and theorize of why the artist did that specific work. It always brought a smile on his face as he would imagine his own piece being displayed in this museum and would imagine the kind of comments visitors would say.

Art was something that amazed Steve ever since he was younger. He was amazed about the feelings and the emotions artists would put in their work. Not only that, but the stories each work of art had. It allowed people to try decipher what the artist intentions were behind their work and what kind of story they would make up. Being an artist had always been Steve's dream ever since he was taught how to draw by one of his neighbors. She believed that he would become a great artist or something else, Steve had always been confused at that last statement of hers, but brushed it off.

Making his way through the museum, he smiled as he pulled up to his favorite painting. It was _The Starry Night_ by Vincent van Gogh. It was a piece Steve had always admired ever since he was introduced to the world of art. For some reason it had always soothed him when he was troubled or not. He could look at this painting for hours and never get enough of it. Looking down at his watch, he noticed how late it was and that it was almost closing time. As soon as he began to leave, he took one quick look at the painting and left, not noticing the young red haired woman walking up to the painting and staring at it.

 **END**

 **My own little headcanon the pre-serum Steve would visit the MoMA because it would be his own little place to get away from life. I'm not too sure if there had been any Steve Rogers fic with him going to an art museum just to spend some down time or to look at paintings.**

 **Like I said, Natasha finally gets her cameo in her story! Of course Steve doesn't meet her right away.**

 **Oh yes, Steve has quite the potty mouth in this fic, because let's be real, this guy wouldn't have a filter on anyways. I mean do you see who he grew up with? LOL!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Dancing Flames**

 **Holy shit, it's been like ages since I've updated this. Sorry guys, college life was hectic and I was taking part of the CACWCD on Tumblr. But with the fall semester finally over, I can finally get back to writing and hopefully get some more inspiration.**

 **Anyways, thank you for continuing on supporting this fic, means a lot to me!**

 **Totally excited to see the new Star Wars movie! Also has anyone heard about the interview the Russo Brothers in China? It's about the two most endearing scenes in the movie are with Steve and Nat! Ack I don't think my shipper heart would be able to take it and all the angsty scenarios are running through my head**

 **Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of any characters used**

 **ENJOY!**

Steve let out a breath of relief as his English class was finally over, his professor was a complete dull and would end up sharing his life stories with the class most of the time instead of teaching. Seriously he was grateful he sat in the back and could get away with doodling in his notebook. Though time to time Steve would pay attention because he knew his ma would smack his head if he wasn't focusing in class, despite the fact the professor was really boring.

As he made his way towards the art room, one of his classmates called for him.

"Yo Rogers!" Turning around, a medium built young man with brown haired wave to him.

Curious, Steve walked towards him, "Hey Peter, what's up?"

"Good Rogers," he smiled, he was one of the few people that liked hanging around Steve and would ask him for lessons. "Anyways, class is cancelled today."

Steve was shocked, "Really? What happened to Professor Brown?"

Peter shrugged, "Apparently he caught a really bad fever and had to call out sick. I just found out about this a few minutes ago when one of the staff members of the art department saw me."

The blond frowned, "Well I hope he gets better."

"Same," he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "anyways take care, alright?"

He nodded, "Same to you Pete, take care." Walking away he headed towards the library to kill some time as he waited for Bucky to be done with class. Trying to do some of his homework wasn't helping Steve to pass the time.

With a frustrated sigh, the blond got up and left the library. He continued to walk through the college halls, hoping the walk would help clear his mind. As he strolled through the halls, he spotted a door slightly open with a stream of light peeking through. Curiously he peeked in and noticed that it was the concert hall he was in. He noticed that no one was there but then his eyes caught on a small figure on the stage. His blue eyes widened in surprised as he saw the most beautiful dame he'd ever seen in his life.

The mysterious woman was gracefully dancing on the stage, her movements precise as she moved along with the music playing on the record player. Steve was entranced with this dancer, he noticed she must be a ballet dancer as he spotted the clothes she was wearing. He felt his breathing stopping as he was too caught up in her graceful dancing. As she jumped in the spotlight, he noticed that his eyes couldn't register what color what it was because of his color blindness. The moment the music stopped playing, it was his cue to leave silently.

Once he quietly left the concert hall, Steve immediately dashed, trying to find Bucky as he was leaving his class. He could feel his lungs burning as he ran through the campus. A lot of students moved to the side as they spotted him running. Running too quickly, he didn't spot Bucky and ended up colliding.

"Jesus Steve, what the hell," the brunette grumbled as he picked his books up. He noticed Steve panting heavily, immediately he grabbed the smaller man's inhaler out of his pocket and quickly administered it to him.

The blond took a deep breath as his lungs settled down, "Thanks Buck."

As they got up, Bucky wrapped his arm around his shoulder and the two began to walk.

"Damn Rogers, I don't think I've ever seen you run that fast since middle school," he teased, "so who the hell you running from?"

"I wasn't running from anything."

Barnes raised a brow, "Seriously? Alright so why the rush?" The smaller man blushed. "Aw shit, Stevie's got a little crush!"

"Shut up Buck," he smacked his friend's chest playfully.

Steve was responded with a laugh, "Come on Stevie, it's not every day I see you head over heels over a dame." He gave him that shit eating grin that annoyed the blond so much, "So what's her name?"

"That's the thing Buck, I don't know her name."

Once they reached the mess hall, they grabbed a table and sat down.

"So your telling me that you didn't get the girl's name?" Bucky shook his head. "Stevie, I thought I taught you better."

"You taught me jack shit," Steve kicked his shin, "besides I didn't exactly speak to her."

Bucky snorted, "You don't talk to women in general."

He was given a glare from the blond. "What I'm saying Bucky is that I saw her dancing in the concert hall."

"Ah dancer eh? Good for you Stevie, so what happened afterwards?"

"Well I just got caught up in the moment. Jesus Buck, she was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. The way she moved, god, it was something alright." He noticed his childhood friend grinning at him. "What is it now Buck."

Barnes laughed at him, "Jesus Rogers, you got it _bad_. I mean, you got so loss just talking about this gal." He let out a small chuckle, "Damn, I don't think I ever seen you act this way about a gal."

"I know Buck, but there's something about her, I mean the moment I saw her dancing, I just had the real sudden urge to draw her ya know?"

"So you going to try to find her again tomorrow?"

Steve shrugged, "I don't know Buck, I mean this was just a coincidence that my art class was cancelled." He let out a sigh, "I highly doubt I'll see her again."

Barnes leaned over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure you'll see her again, I mean if she's a dancer, then it shouldn't be too hard to find her in the dance studios they have."

Steve smiled, "Yeah your right."

"Good, now let's get something to eat."

As they got up to get their food, they didn't spot their topic of their conversation leaving the mess hall.

* * *

It was late at night and Steve found himself unable to sleep. He kept looking up at the ceiling, his mind going back to the mysterious dancer he saw. Getting up, he searched for his sketchbook, once it was found and opening to a blank page, he began to do a rough sketch. He was able to get the basis for the drawing as well as the dance clothes she wore. Steve let out a frustrated groan as his sketch didn't capture the dancer's true beauty.

"Hopefully tomorrow would be better," putting his art supplies away, Steve closed his eyes and let sleep take over.

* * *

Walking through the night light of New York was a certain red head, she had just gotten dropped off by a cab as she was done with her classes. She made sure she wasn't followed and reached an apartment complex with a brown colored door. Fishing for her keys, she opened the door and quickly closed it. Her green eyes spotting a man with grayish hair, writing notes down on the kitchen table.

"Doctor," looking up he gave a smile.

"Ah Natalia, welcome," she rolled her eyes playfully as he got up and hugged her, "so how's the search going?"

She shook her head and sat down, "Not too good doc, haven't found anyone yet for the program."

"Ah no worries, tomorrow will be better."

Natalia nodded, "Yes tomorrow will be better."

 **END**

 **So I switched Natasha's name to Natalia because that name is a bit too modern for this story's timeline. Also I used a few lines from my one-shot "Graceful Beauty," another Romanogers fic that took place in the 40s.**

 **Next chapter may or may not be Steve and Nat's fateful meeting, or it's just a chapter focus solely on Nat.**


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